Sealing and guiding structure for a door



Jan. 13, 1970 D. A. RECCHIONE SEALING AND GUIDING STRUCTURE FOR A DOOR 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 22, 1968 ATTUP/I/H/J %W 1970 D. A. RECCHIONESEALING AND GUIDING STRUCTURE FOR A DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March22, 1968 United States Patent 3,489,200 SEALING AND GUIDING STRUCTUREFOR A DOOR Dominic A. Recchione, Jackson Heights, N.Y., assignor toOverhead Door Construction, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Indiana FiledMar. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 715,367 Int. Cl. E06b 7/23; Ed 15/38 U.S. Cl.160-133 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Combined guide and weatherseal structure for engagement with the lateral edges of an upwardlyacting door and mountable upon the framework defining an opening in awall. The opposite edges of the door are received in a pair of channelsand appropriate seal means extend between the guide structure and thedoor to form a weather lock. Engageable abutment means in the sameregion positively opposes wtihdrawal of the door through the open sideof the channel, without obstructing the slidin movement of the doorlengthwise of the channels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general toupwardly acting doors having a plurality of horizontally hinged slots orpanels which can be rolled upon a spindle above the door opening and,more particularly, to a guide and seal structure for the oppositelateral edges of the door.

Persons acquainted with the manufacture and use of upwardly actingdoors, which are usually wound upon a spindle when in the open position,have long been aware of the serious need for, and the unsuccessfulattempts to provide, a truly weathertight guide structure for theopposite lateral edges of the door. Existing guide and seal structureshave been deemed unsatisfactory because they leak, especially when thewind is strong, because they lack a completely foolproof means forpreventing dislodgment of the lateral edges of the door from the guidestructure when the wind is strong or when other stresses are applied tothe door. Moreover, they lack suitable protective devices on the guidestructure or the edges of the door to avoid damage to the panels orslats, and particularly the hinge portions thereof, during relativelynormal use.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provisionof a combined guide and seal structure for the edge of an upwardlyacting door having a plurality of horizontally hinged slats or panelswhereby a completely effective wind and weather seal is provided aroundthe lateral edges of the door, whereby the door can flex inwardly oroutwardly under heavy wind loads or other stresses without beingdislodged from the guide structure and without injuring the hingemechanisms between adjacent panels and without breaking the weatherseal, and whereby the door is positively prevented from becomingdislodged from the guide structure by move ment transversely thereofshort of fracturing the entire structure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a sealing structurewhich is easy to assemble and adapted for use with door componentsreadily available on the market, thereby reducing the cost ofmanufacture.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become apparent topersons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the followingdescriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary, interior elevation of an upwardly acting doorembodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIGURE 1.

3,489,200 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 FIGURE 3 is a fragment of FIGURE 2showing parts thereof in different positions of operation.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIVI in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side view of a modified door.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIGURE 7.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, internal andexternal will have reference to the door and associated parts thereof asappearing in FIGURE 1 which disclose the internal surface of the door.The terms "inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference tothe geometric center of the guide and seal structure of the inventionand parts associated therewith.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects and purposes of the invention havebeen met by providing a pair of seals, one of which is secured to thedoor guide structure and slidingly engages the exterior of the door andthe other of which is secured to the edge of the movable door andslidingly engages the door guide structure to provide a weathertightseal for the door. Interacting abutment means positively preventdislodgment of the door from the guide structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An upwardly acting door assembly 10 (FIGURE 1)comprises a door 11 which is movable into and out of a position closingan opening 12 defined by a door frame 14 (FIGURE 2) in a building wall13.

A pair of guide structures 16 and 16A extend along the vertical edges ofthe door frame 14. The guide structure 16 is comprised of an elongated,upright angle member 17 having an L-shaped cross section with one flange18 thereof secured to the door frame 14 by bolts 19. The other flange 21projects perpendicularly away from the internal surface of the wall 13.A pair of elongated angle members 22 and 23 having L-shaped crosssections are arranged so that their flanges 24 and 26, respectively, areparallel and secured to the flange 21 by bolts 27. The flanges 28 and 29of the angle members 22 and 23, respectively, are horizontally spacedand parallel so that they, in combination with the flange 26 of theangle member 23, define a channel 31.

The free edge of the flange 28 (FIGURE 2) of the angle member 22 has anelongated grove 32 which extends the full vertical length of the anglemember 22 adjacent the exterior surface of the door 11. An elongated andresiliently flexible seal 33 has one lengthwise edge recessed and heldwithin the groove 32, and the other lengthwise edge slidingly engagesthe exterior surface of the door.

An elongated ridge 34, which is integral with and projects from theinner surface of the flange 28, extends parallel with the groove 32 andis spaced substantially from the flange 26 of angle member 22.

The two guide structures 16 and 16A are preferably mirror images of eachother. Thus, a detailed description of the guide structure 16A isbelieved unnecessary.

The door 11 comprises a plurality of horizontally hinged panels or slats36 which extend across the opening 12 in the wall 13 and are engaged bythe structures 16 and 16A. In this embodiment, the hinge elements 37 and38 are integral parts of adjacent panels which are interengaged. It isrecognized, of course, that other types of hinge structures, which wouldnot interfere with the operation of the door, could be used. The door 11is moved upwardly from its closed position and rolled upon a spindle(not shown) located above the opening 12 and mounted upon the internalsurface of the wall 13.

The stems 41 of a plurality of T-shaped end members 42 are securedrespectively to the door panels 36 by rivets 43. The crossbar 44 of theT-shaped member 42 has a broad lip 46 projecting in the oppositedirection from the stem 41. An abutment 47 projects from the exteriorsurface of the lip 46 toward the flange 28. The crossbar also has a pairof spaced projections 48 and 49 which project toward the flange 29. Thedistance between the outer edges of the abutment 47 and projection 48 ina direction perpendicular to the flange 29 is slightly less than theperpendicular distance between the flanges 28 and 29.

A plurality of T-shaped clips 51 each have a stem 52 secured to the stem41 of an end member 42 by at least one of the rivets 43 (FIGURE 6). Thecross member 53 of each clip 51 extends along and is spaced from the lip46 and has a length which is slightly less than the distance between theremote surfaces of a pair of the projections 48 and 49, respectively.

A resiliently flexible and elongated seal 56 has one lengthwise edgegripped between each lip 46 and the cross member 53 of the correspondingclip 51. The other lengthwise edge of the seal 56 is slideably engagedwith the inner surface of the flange 29.

OPERATION Although the operation of the invention will be readilyapparent from the foregoing description to those skilled in the art,said operation will now be summarized for convenience.

The door 11 is movable upwardly and downwardly in the channels, such aschannel 31 (FIGURE 2), provided by the guide structures 16 and 16A(FIGURE 1). The overall thickness of the end member 42 at theprojections 48 and 49 and the abutment 47 is slightly less than thewidth of the channel 31. Thus, the abutment 47 will be engageable withthe ridge 34 to prevent disengagement of the door 11 from the structure16 when a load is applied to the door 11 whereby it is urged out of suchengagement as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The resiliently flexible seal 33 is slideable along the external surfaceof the door 11 and is arranged to maintain a continuous sealingengagement with said external surface even when a load is applied toflex the door, as is illustrated in FIGURE 3. The resiliently flexibleseal 56 slideably and continuously engages the inner surface of theflange 29, even when a load is applied to flex the door as isillustrated in FIGURE 3.

The contiguous arrangement of the adjacent end members 42 and theirlocation with respect to the seal 33 and the flange 28, when the door 11is in its closed position, are such that inclement weather cannot movethrough these members under any foreseeable conditions, even if the dooris exposed to excessive stresses of wind or the like. Furthermore, theseals 56 and 33 positively prevent the movement of heat around the edgeof the door 11 from within the building defined by the wall 13.

The abutment 47 and the projections 48 and 49 constantly space the slats36 from the flanges 28 and 29, respectively, whereby wear of said slatsand/or damage to their hinge elements 37 and 38, especially duringoperation under adverse conditions of weather or use.

Thus, the door assembly is capable of withstanding relatively highstress loads, short of fracturing the structure, without breaking theweather lock provided by the seals 33 and 56, and without dislodging thedoor from the guide structures 16 and 16A.

The modified door 60 disclossed in FIGURES 7 and 8 has slats 61, each ofwhich is curved transversely of its length to provide a convex exteriorsurface 62. The resultant door structure has greater resistance toforces urging flexion than does the door 11 with flat slats. Also, thedistance between the central plane of the door 60 and the hinge axes ofthe hinge elements 63 and 64 is less than the distance between thecorresponding parts of the door 11. This also reduces the opportunityfor door flexion when, for example, it is exposed to a strong wind.

The stem 66 of the modified end member 67 has lengthwise flanges 68 and69 which preferably lie adjacent the concave edge portions of the slat61, to which the member 67 is secured by rivets 71. This arrange-mentalso tends to stiffen the slat, at least near the end member 67.

In general, the operation of the door 60 and the performance of itscombined weather, wind and end lock structures may be and preferably aresubstantially the same as described above with respect to the door 11and its corresponding structures.

Although particular preferred embodments of the in vention has beendisclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood thatvariations or modifications thereof which lie within the scope of theappended claims, are fully contemplated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In an upwardly acting door comprising a plurality of elongated andhorizontally hinged members adapted to be stored in a roll above theopening to be closed by said door, a combined guide, end lock, weatherlock and wind lock structure for the door comprising:

wall means including first and second substantially parallel flangemembers defining an elongated channel in which one edge of said door isslideably received for movement lengthwise of said channel;

first seal means coacting between the door and said wall means foropposing movement of air from one side of said door to the other sidethereof through said channel, said first seal means including a firstelongated resilient seal member extending lengthwise of said channel,said first seal member having one lengthwise extending edge thereofsecured to said first flange member substantially adjacent the free edgethereof, the other lengthwise edge of said first seal member being freeand being resiliently urged into sliding and sealing engagement with oneside of said door;

a plurality of end members secured to the hinged members of said dooralong one lengthwise edge of the door, each end member having abutmentmeans extending transversely of said door beyond one side thereof andprojection means projecting from said end member beyond the other sideof said door for spacing said hinge members from said flange members,said projection means being offset with respect to said abut-ment meanstoward the center of said door, and said end members having a widthtransversely of said door slightly less than the width of said channelas defined between said first and second flange members whereby saidabutment means and said projection means coact with said flange membersto protect said hinge members;

second seal means coacting between said wall means and said door foropposing movement of air from one side of said door to the other sidethereof through said channel, said second seal means including a secondelongated resilient seal member extending lengthwise along said one edgeof said door, said second seal member having one lengthwise edge thereofsecured to said end members between said projection means and saidabutment means, said abutment means extending outwardly of said onelengthwise edge of said second seal means with the other lengthwise edgethereof being free and being resiliently urged into sliding and sealingengagement with said wall means; and

elongated ridge means fixedly secured to and extending second sealmember is resiliently urged into engagelengthwise of said channel andprojecting laterally ment with said second flange member. from one ofsaid flange members into said channel, said ridge means being positionedbetween said abutr n s Cited ment means and said first seal means fromengage- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS ment by said abutment means on each ofsaid end members whereby dislodgement of said one edge of 806,17412/1905 Mccloud 160-235 said door from said channel is positivelyopposed. 1054'977 3/1913 Mficloud 160-235 2. A structure according toclaim 1, wherein said end 1918'415 7/1933 Mlner 16023 member has acentral portion fixedly interconnected be- 10 1936300 11/1933 Guss16O133 tween and laterally spacing said projection means and said ggzfige-gggi "1155 5 aboutment means; and

including clip means fixedly secured to each of said end l gil n 551 8%members, said clip means having a portion thereof adjacent to but spacedfrom said central portion for 1 PETER M CAUN Primary Examiner defining agroove therebetween, said one lengthwise edge of said second seal memberbeing held within US. Cl. X.R. said groove so that the other lengthwiseedge of said l6041, 235

